Laid in America Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Laid in America Blu-ray Movie Review

Looking for love in all the wrong places.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 1, 2016

Losers looking for love (sex, really, but, alliteration and all that) seems just about the oldest staple in the comedy playbook, and it's at the center of the aptly titled Laid in America, the story of two foreign, virginal teens in search of their first action on their last night in the States. It doesn't get much more routine than that, and even as the boys find themselves knee-deep (though they'd rather something a little higher be in deep) in various shenanigans that all but cost them their lives on the way to scoring, the movie can't shake the overpowering sense of cliché and déjà vu that permeates practically every frame. But it's not a disaster. It's hardly good, but the movie plays with enough innate charm and likability from its lead cast that it overcomes -- barely, usually, but overcomes nonetheless -- its generic roots and delivers serviceable, mindless entertainment that amounts to little more than a repackage of the same basic ideas that have been covered many times before.

All they want is some action!

High school foreign exchange students Duncan (Olajide Olatunji, a.k.a "KSI") and Jack (Caspar Lee) are wrapping up their time in the States. There's still one thing they want to do, though: lose their virginity. It's their last night, so time is running short. Duncan has caught they eye of Tabitha (Heather Cowles), which doesn't do much for him, while Jack likes the lovely Kaylee (Madison Iseman), who seems to like him, too, but there's one problem: she just broke up with Tucker (Josh Leyva), the school jock who assumes he'll get her back. Add that their best chance to score is at Tucker's party -- which is by invite only, and they're not invited -- and they seem to be out of options. Fortunately, they're determined, and they will stop at nothing to have sex before the night is out. If they can make it to that party, that is.

Laid in America's dearth of creativity begins even before the movie starts. The box art is an unimaginative hybrid/rip-off of Go and Dude, Where's My Car?. But that's just the wrapping. The movie begins with a shot of a sex doll. The film's heroes proceed to hump it, comically, while they're participating in an online sex ed class. And so begins their journey to lose their virginity. They don't really care if they do it in style, where, or with whom (though, certainly, Jack would prefer it be with the lovely Kaylee). It's a straight-up Sex-Adventure film where the pursuit of the goal leads the heroes to a few strange places and introduces them to several oddball characters. The scenarios aren't quite so zany as one might think, but several of the characters -- particularly Goose, who is played by Bobby Lee -- are entertaining little plot-pushers who scrape together enough laughs to maintain the movie's forward momentum.

Indeed, the movie exceeds expectations, which isn't to give it all that much credit, but it's a pleasant enough little venture, a bit lewd to be sure but not bad for this sort of movie. It doesn't take itself in the least bit serious and has plenty of fun with its zany scenarios. It elicits a few chuckles here and there and, with its sub-90 minute runtime, doesn't overextend its welcome. Even if the specifics -- the who's and the where's -- of the adventure aren't known going in, the movie's basic cadence and outcome are certainly no surprise. Laid in America manages to effectively fight its lack of freshness with an innocence and happy-go-lucky approach that's largely thanks to the contributions of its leads, Youtube sensations KSI and Casper Lee, who don't try to overextend their range but who rather go with the movie's flow and enjoy the process.

Laid in America Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Laid in America's 1080p transfer is adequate, nothing more and nothing less. The mid-grade digital photography leaves the image appearing rather flat, and it's filled with mildly smeary, smudgy, and soft background details. Foreground texturing isn't anything to write home about either. Facial and clothing lines fail to capture any kind of serious intimacy, certainly far less than is average for a digitally shot new film. Colors are many and satisfy on a base level, though the diversity can't hide the rather lackluster presentation: there's no real pop and precious little feel of nuance and vitality. Noise isn't much of a factor, however. Neither black levels nor skin tones raise any alarms. Blah.

Laid in America Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Laid in America features a DTS-HD Master audio 5.1 loses soundtrack, but the movie isn't exactly a sound engineering marvel to begin with, so there's not much muscle to it. The track is rather straightforward, lacking much surround information and certainly failing to find any kind of fluidity, seamlessness, or punch. Even hard-edge party music heard around the 1:03:00 mark is flat, absent a serious low end, and never stretching beyond the front. Atmospherics are mostly MIA. Dialogue dominates the majority, and it is at least presented cleanly and efficiently with natural prioritization and front-center placement.

Laid in America Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Laid in America contains one extra, but it's a meaty one. The Making of 'Laid in America' (1080p, 58:24) features KSI and Caspar Lee hosting an in-depth, day-by-day behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie. Among other topics, the hosts and additional cast and crew hit the differences between shooting a film versus shooting for Youtube, the daily grind of the shoot, specific scene details, locations, character details, cast and performances, anecdotes from the set, and plenty of other fun and interesting bits. Fans of the film, or its stars, will definitely find this to be of great value. No DVD or digital copies of the film are included.

Laid in America Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Laid in America doesn't offer nonstop laughs and it doesn't find any creativity in its story, but it's...passable...for what it is. The cast is enthusiastic and brings out the best in stale material. Fans of the genre or the Youtubers who star in it should find it an agreeable enough 90-minute time waster. Universal's Blu-ray features bland video and audio and only one extra, but it's a meaty, nearly hour-long behind-the-scenes look at the making of the movie. Rent it.